Mauer out of lineup, available to pinch-hit

PITTSBURGH -- Joe Mauer ran around the bases pregame for the first time since suffering a bruised right quad, but was still held out of the lineup against the Pirates on Wednesday.

Mauer, who suffered the bruised quad in a home-plate collision with Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks on Sunday, was available to pinch-hit but wasn't in the starting lineup for the second straight game.

He's been taking batting practice and said it's getting better, but it's still not to the point where he can run.

"The biggest thing right now is that it swelled up pretty good, so I'm fighting that," Mauer said. "I'm trying to get the swelling down. So hopefully I can get it down to a spot where I can run a little bit."

With Mauer out, Drew Butera started behind the plate with left-hander Francisco Liriano on the mound for the Twins.

Capps expected back Thursday or Friday

PITTSBURGH -- Closer Matt Capps threw before Wednesday's game against the Pirates, but is expected to be out until Thursday or Friday.

Capps, who is dealing with inflammation in his right shoulder, hasn't pitched since allowing a two-run homer in Minnesota's 5-3 loss to Milwaukee on Friday.

"He went out and threw some in the 'pen and felt a lot better," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "So probably give him another day. That's our preference. It could change as we go along."

Morneau tries to get back to old ways vs. lefties

PITTSBURGH -- Twins first baseman Justin Morneau's numbers against right-handed pitchers this season have been right in line with his career numbers against righties, but he's uncharacteristically struggled against left-handers this season.

Entering Wednesday, Morneau was hitting .304/.385/.592 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) with eight homers in 143 plate appearances against right-handers, which is a bit better than his career average of .294/.376/.531 vs. righties.

But against lefties, Morneau is batting just.094/.119/.203 with two homers and 20 strikeouts in 67 plate appearances. Those numbers pale in comparison to his overall numbers against southpaws, as he's a career .251/.299/.434 hitter against left-handers.

"I think he's definitely pressing a little bit when he gets up there," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "There's been a lot of talk about him numbers against left-handers outside this office. That always makes guys think about it more and try a little harder. So I think he's thinking about it an awful lot and thinking about what's going wrong instead of seeing it and hitting it. So you have to get back to the basics in this game."

Despite his struggles against lefties, Morneau was still in the lineup against Pirates left-hander Erik Bedard on Wednesday, as he's batting .407 (11-for-27) with two homers against him in his career.

Gardenhire said the key is for Morneau to stay back and wait for a pitch to drive while facing lefties instead of trying to do too much.

"Right now, he's trying to beat it instead of waiting a little bit longer," Gardenhire said. "That's what it looks like to me. But I'm sure he's pressing and thinking about it an awful lot and that gets you in trouble in this game."